New Tool Aims to Better Track Medicine Used for Meth

TOPEKA, Ks. – Kansas is now taking part in a multi-state online system aimed at better tracking medication used to make methamphetamine. Attorney General Derek Schmidt and members of the Kansas Board of Pharmacy announced the new controls Monday.

Pharmacies will now link to an online system to see if buyers have purchased the legal limit of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth. Kansas already limits the sale of the medication, but Schmidt says this will strengthen the law.

"The announcement today really is aimed at providing additional 21st century tools to enforce the public policy that's been on the books now for more than half of a decade," says Schmidt.

If the customer has already purchased the maximum amount allowed, the system will tell the pharmacy not to complete the sale. The medication is already kept behind the counter, and pharmacies keep records tracking who buys it. The new online system will replace those paper records.